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Exclusive: Lifetime Developing Clarice, Based on Silence of the Lambs Character

Lifetime is in the early stages of developing Clarice, a drama based on the Clarice Starling character that earned The Silence of the Lambs star Jodie Foster an Academy Award for best actress.

Clarice would follow the exploits of a young Clarice Starling soon after she graduates from the FBI academy. The show's development comes as NBC preps the 13-episode series Hannibal, which also takes place in the world of author Thomas Harris' Hannibal Lecter series of books. But Hannibal, from Bryan Fuller, won't include the Clarice character, and instead focuses on the relationship between Hannibal and FBI criminal profiler Will Graham (played by Hugh Dancy).

MGM is producing Clarice, which Lifetime boss Nancy Dubuc first hinted may be in the works during the network's upfront presentation. Dubuc has been busy making over Lifetime by bringing in more original series with strong female leads at their core, including Jennifer Love Hewitt's The Client List.

As originally envisioned by Harris, Clarice grew up in West Virginia until she was 10, when her father, a police officer, was shot and killed. She moves to her uncle's farm in Montana, but later runs away and winds up in an orphanage. After college, she applies to the FBI academy. The Silence of the Lambs was published in 1988, and the movie adaptation hit theaters in 1991. Ten years later, Foster declined to reprise the role in 2001's Hannibal. Instead, Julianne Moore took over as the character.